E3M8: Fortress Of Tyrants (ConC.E.R.Ned)

E3M8: Fortress Of Tyrants is the eighth and final map in episode Hellish Extermination of ConC.E.R.Ned. It was designed by Matt Powell (cannonball) and uses the music track "River of Souls" from .

Essentials
Follow the tunnel, collecting the items on either side, until you reach a gargoyle switch and shoot it to open the way forward, then go outside and turn left and left again to enter a cavern with a second switch; watch out for some zombies and imps appearing on the ledge ahead as you approach. Press the switch then go back outside and head north towards the fortress entrance, where a bridge has risen over the lava moat; the gate will lower automatically as you approach, and you can kill some demons that teleport behind you while you wait. Once the gate drops, push past some imps and lost souls to a lift then press the skull switch on your left to go down to the main hall - a rocket launcher and plasma gun have been left in the middle of the hall if you need them (plus a BFG9000 on I'm Too Young To Die (ITYTD) and Hey Not Too Rough (HNTR) skill levels), but watch out for the caged cyberdemons on either side.

Red and blue keys
Go through the south-west doorway and follow the passage down to a tall room with alcoves on either side, then head towards the pentagram wall in front of you until you see it start to lower; use the plasma gun to eliminate all the imps that teleport in, then once the wall has finished lowering step past it to enter a chamber with two lifts. Ride the right-hand (north) lift up and kill all the waiting enemies then head east until you reach a skull switch, which will open a door on the other side of the hall along with closets containing shotgun guys and cacodemons. Go back to the lifts and ride the left-hand (south) lift up this time, follow the ledge east to the door you just opened then go through and head down some steps to an outdoor area; after killing the imps and spectres that teleport in, press both gargoyle switches then backtrack to the stairs that lead back to the main hall. At the top of these stairs you will see that a metal barrier on your left has lowered, letting you climb some red steps to a wooden room with imps, shotgun guys, cacodemons and barons of Hell. Press the skull switch in the north-west corner to lower a lift leading up to the barons' ledge, then follow the passage in front of you to find one of the caged cyberdemons guarding the blue skull key.

Return to the main hall then go through the south-east doorway and follow the corridor until you see some imps ahead; as you approach them, the floor will lower and drop you into a lava-filled cavern with two spiderdemons. Go to the north-west corner to collect a radiation shielding suit then proceed to the south-west corner to a gargoyle switch protected by two barons, which will open two marble walls on the east side that you can walk through to escape. Go up the steps to confront some imps and cacodemons then continue east up a curved staircase guarded by zombies, imps and spectres until you reach a metal barrier which blocks your path; if you turn left at this point you can go up some steps to the imps' ledge and follow it round to a skull switch guarded by a baron, which will lower the barrier but also release some cacodemons and lost souls behind you. Head past the barrier and push past a crowd of imps then head through the next room to a vine-covered passage which leads to one of the caged cyberdemons you saw earlier guarding the red skull key; as you approach it the walls on either side will lower to reveal barons, so step back and let them infight before you go for the key.

Yellow key
With the red key, retrace your steps to the previous room to find that a teleporter with some shotgun guys on it has lowered and use this to return to the main hall. Go up the north-west staircase, watching out for a baron ambush at the top, then go forward to a T-junction and turn left to see some demons guarding a blue key door. Go through the door and push past some imps and shotgun guys to a second door, then head down some wooden steps to a room containing many small enemies along with a spiderdemon on top of a supercharge. Go to the north wall and press the skull switch behind the spiderdemon then quickly head to the south-west corner to get on a lift before it rises, then head north to press a red skull switch - this is one of two switches needed to open the way to the yellow key.

Return to the T-junction and head north to a red key door this time, open it and head past a cacodemon and some imps to another door; going through here will put you on a ledge overlooking a lava pit containing another spiderdemon. Head south to find some imps and demons guarding a gargoyle switch and press it, then drop into the lava and head west to a small wooden step with a lift that leads up to a marble ledge. Ride the lift up and dispose of some barons that rise from the blood ahead then step over it to press a second gargoyle switch; after doing so, drop into the lava and use any of the teleporters to get back up to the east ledge. Return to the T-junction and look west to see that the pentagram wall here has lowered to reveal a skull switch - arm yourself before pressing this as it will lower the back wall to reveal a cyberdemon guarding an armor, a supercharge and another skull switch that needs to be pressed.

Return to the main hall and go up the curving north-east staircase to a radiation suit, take it then go down the steps in front of you to a lava lake - never stand still in this area as there are multiple cyberdemons standing on raised ledges who can blast you from a distance. Head east towards a crowd of demons who are approaching from the other direction (along with a large number of cacodemons who fly in from the surrounding cliffs) then push past them to some red steps that lead up to a gargoyle switch and several energy cell packs (there will also be a megaarmor here on ITYTD and HNTR, and a supercharge on Hurt Me Plenty or lower). Press the switch to raise some small circular pads behind you and follow them up to a pillar with another gargoyle switch that will raise more pads to your left and right; take the pads on your right and continue following them to each pillar, pressing the switches as you go, until you reach the platform with the yellow skull key.

Exit
Return to the main hall and head up the wide north staircase to a yellow key door; when you try to open it, an alcove containing a cyberdemon (two on Ultra-Violence and Nightmare) will open on your right, and a horde of enemies will teleport to the main hall. Enter the cyberdemons' alcove and press the skull switch inside it to lower a pentagram wall behind you, revealing a button that will open the yellow key door for you. Go through the door to enter a chamber containing a megaarmor, a berserk pack, an energy cell pack and boxes of rockets - the floor will raise automatically and carry you up to the final area, which is themed after an Icon of Sin battle.

As soon as you step outside, some marble blocks will lower and reveal two to four cyberdemons. After killing them, approach the picture on the east wall (a self-portrait of Matt Powell (cannonball)) and press a skull switch that should be revealed on your right to raise a lift behind you; once the lift stops moving, press the switch to the left of the picture to lower it and get on the lift before it rises. Face the picture and fire a rocket into the lava hole, which will blow up a barrel and push a voodoo doll over a teleport line that will cause it to telefrag a spiderdemon outside the arena; if all the spiderdemons have been killed at this point, then the level and the game will end automatically.

Other points of interest
In the main hall, you can walk through the pentagram wall next to the south-east doorway to find a hidden teleporter with a message saying "For St Alfonzo and Tarnsman". The teleporter leads to a maze of passages that use exit doors as walls; walk forward and take the path just on your right, then turn right, left and left again to find an invulnerability.

Stepping on the pillar with the yellow key will raise a lift by another pillar to the south-east, which has a supercharge, a radiation suit and four energy cell packs on it.

Secrets

 * 1) Enter the south-west cave at the start and use the back side of the switch to lower a lift to the north-west. Take it up to get a berserk pack and armor bonuses. (sector 26)
 * 2) In the south-west part of the map, after getting outside find the small pegs at the north-west corner of the platform and use them to go on the wall. Hug the north wall as you fall to the left and keep going to get a supercharge. (sector 486)
 * 3) Take the south-east path from the main hall and when the bridge lowers, head behind the south-east rock and enter it where the candle is to find a megaarmor. (sector 549)
 * 4) Take the north-west path in the main hall to a junction with a blue key door and a red key door. Behind these doors is a pair of rooms connected by a wall with holes lit by torches, save for one which holds an invulnerability sphere. This secret can be accessed from either room and also provides access to the other room. It is important to note that if the player does not hold both the blue and the red key when taking the invulnerability and crossing from one room to another, the only way to avoid a softlock is to go back through the platform that held the invulnerability. From the red key room, on the ledge with the barons, the middle pillar has a small button tucked inside it which will raise a lift to the invulnerability. From the blue key room, there is a similar button in the pillar directly west of the soulsphere, though it is also possible to simply run from the baron ledge right onto the platform with the invulnerability. (sector 809)

Current records
The records for the map at the Doom Speed Demo Archive are:

The (absence of) data was last verified in its entirety on December 20, 2021.

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level: